


Of All The Gin Joints In All The Towns of All The World, I'm Glad You Walked Into Mine

by InSearchOfSpace



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alcohol, Bartender Nepeta, Budding Love, F/M, Fluff, Humanstuck, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Break Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 08:43:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13120206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InSearchOfSpace/pseuds/InSearchOfSpace
Summary: After a messy falling-out with Terezi ends in him being dumped, Karkat finds himself stumbling into a local Bar in an attempt to drown his sorrows in liquor. Thankfully, when even that proves difficult for him, the Barmaid behind the counter is there to offer him some comfort.





	Of All The Gin Joints In All The Towns of All The World, I'm Glad You Walked Into Mine

Karkat slammed Terezi's door behind himself, still in the process of putting his arms through his jacket's sleeves as he stormed down the stairs. They were through - Karkat left to dwell on this, feet stomping loudly as he felt the rage building up, rising in his chest. Swinging open the glass doors of the apartment building, he walked out onto the street underneath the radiant glow of the orange street lights, giving one last glance towards her window, only for the curtains to be drawn just as angrily as Karkat had been feeling, the light from inside snuffed out by the thick material of the drapes. Karkat looked back down, focusing on his current situation. It was dark out, and cold too, with the length of Karkat's walk home acting as the cherry topping off the shitty situation cake.

 

He began sulking down the empty street, populated only by himself and a handful parked cars covered in frost. The journey was giving him time to reflect on his situation - What went wrong? ...What didn't? It all just happened so fast, and though it was clear that recently they'd both been clutching at straws with their relationship as it was, being with her felt like it was just second nature to him. It was hard to think straight about it - with all the feelings of anger spinning about his head.

 

Angry feelings that were... Already beginning to subside, only to be replaced with sadness. 

 

It was actually over, wasn't it? That little row they'd just had ensured they were done for good, with no possibility of a second chance, and the ire Karkat Vantas was so immersed in was replaced by a turn in his stomach, and a lump of grief in his throat.

 

It felt like him and Terezi had been together forever. Really, they had. Over half of the years Karkat had spent living on this fucking rock of a planet had been spent in a relationship with her, and now it was over, just like _that_. It was a real shock to the system, and Karkat couldn't even tell what emotion this was. He couldn't tell if it was guilt, grief, regret, or even loathing. All he knew was that he hated it, and it wanted it to stop _now_.

 

He would have had more time to dwell on it, were it not for the brief flash among the dark clouds hanging in the pitch black sky, followed by a low rumble from above. He turned his head up, a water droplet hitting his eye, then two more on his cheek, before beginning to feel them against his clothes at a gradually increasing rate. Karkat just began to laugh, putting a hand over his face.

 

"You're shitting me. You're _actually_  fucking shitting me." He said, taking his hand away as he looked at the drops of rain hitting the pavement around him, pattering softly against cars, windows, and the protective metal shutters of stores that were closed up for the night. He couldn't believe his luck - It was like being in some horrifically cliché movie where the rain just kicks straight the fuck in out of nowhere when anything bad happens to the protagonist, only this was **ACTUALLY** happening to him. He just shook his head, continuing through the downpour with his hands in his pockets, only to spot something up ahead that offered him relief, catching his eye and piquing his interest.

 

It was a blue and red neon sign reading "BAR", and it belonged to what must have been one of the only places still open at this time of night. Karkat wasn't much of a drinker-- Actually, Karkat _wasn't_ a drinker, but if there was ever a time to visit such a place, it would be tonight. Besides, he could stand to be out of the rain for a while, even if just for a few minutes. With that, Karkat made his way to the door, and sure enough another neon sign let him know that the place was actually open, prompting him to push open the creaky wooden door and step inside.

 

The warmth was felt immediately, as opposed to the harsh wind outside blowing against his wet, rain-soaked clothes. A jukebox sat in the furthest corner of the barroom quietly playing hits from about 40 - 30 years ago, and a few tables could be seen against the wall opposite the bar. Two pool tables sat in the middle of the room, one of which still seeming to display the aftermath of a recently, albeit abruptly finished game, as the 8-Ball seemed to have been potted. Both pool cues were just leaning up against the table like somebody was going to return any moment to pick them up again, and the only two balls sitting atop the table's scuffed up green felt were balls 3 and 6 directly next to each other. Other than Karkat, nobody else was present.

 

The place was dimly lit, but it was still easy to navigate, and in a sense it helped with the unusually soothing vibe the place gave off as opposed to having a harsh bright light. While he was pleasantly surprised with how relaxing it was simply being in there, he was sill upset - in a funk, and no warm pub was going to change that. Not yet at least. With a huff, Karkat made his way to a stool, sitting down at the counter only to immediately place his elbow on the surface, and his head in his hand. Almost as soon as he settled down, the swinging door behind the bar was pushed open, and out stepped a girl who looked to be about his age, standing at about an inch or so taller than him, with a head of shoulder-length blonde hair. The white buttoned-up long sleeve shirt, bow tie, and sleeve garters seemed to imply that this girl served drinks. Karkat looked up at her, and then looked back down at the counter.

 

"Oh!" She said, spotting him almost as soon as she came in. "I'm sorry! I really, really hope you weren't waiting for too long. I'd never forgive myself! I don't suppaws I can get you anything..?" 

 

Karkat sighed, thinking it over for a moment. Well, it would be rude to come in and just sit there, refusing to order anything. Especially at... 

 

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

 

1 AM? Jesus, was it really that late? Or rather, that early? He had to commend the bartender's ability to come off so bubbly at such an ungodly hour. Maybe it came naturally. Shaking his head free of that specific train of thought, he got back to pondering her question.

 

 "Uh... I don't know. Gin. I guess." Karkat said coldly the first thing that came to mind, fishing about in his pocket for his wallet. He'd never had gin before, but it seemed like a drink suitable for the mood he was in - A favourite of noir movie stars and scorned lovers everywhere. Some at least. In hindsight, that might have been whisky he was thinking of.

 

While he didn't really do alcohol, he'd never had much of it. He assumed it couldn't _all_ be as bad as what he'd already tried. He figured eventually he'd find the drink for him. Maybe he'd find it now - who knew?

 

"Oh! Er, really? Would you like it with anything?" The girl asked, scratching her head as she looked down at him. To which Karkat rolled his eyes, letting his mood get the better of him. "Yeah, I want it with a tiny umbrella and a fucking lime garnish on the side of the glass." He said, both elbows now on the table, and his head now in both hands. As Karkat saw her silently rush around with a glass and bottle from the shelf behind the bar out of the corner of his eye, he exhaled deeply, rubbing his tired eyes before looking back up. It wasn't often he apologized, but she didn't deserve to take his shitty attitude just because he was having a bad day.

 

"Look, I'm sorry about that, I was just being an ass-..." He was interrupted by a glass filled with clear liquid and ice being placed in front of him, a slice of lime wedged on the rim of the glass, and a small umbrella hanging out the side of it

 

"...-hole." He finished, looking at the glass, genuinely surprised. Holy Hell, did she work quick.

 

"Don't worry about it, mister! I figured you were feeling down." She said with a comforting smile. "I've seen that look you've got on your face more times than I can count. Y'know, beclaws I'm a bartender." She added, folding her arms on the counter, laying her head against them as she looked over at him, blinking a couple times in a quick succession. "Oh! I'm Nepeta, by the way!" She giggled, standing back up straight as Karkat picked up the glass.

 

"Well, _Nepeta_ , you can't possible know that. Uh, I'm Karkat by the way. But just for the record, I'm feeling _fine_. Just fucking fine." He said, taking a drink, only for his eyes to widen to the size of dinnerplates as he struggled to keep it down, one hand firmly against the counter and the other putting the glass back down. It tasted awful, and once he managed to swallow the first sip, his face curled up into a wince, a shudder being sent through his entire body. "What the fuck was that?!" Karkat yelled, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he tried to get the taste and the burning sensation out of his mind.

 

"That was the gin, silly!" Nepeta said with a giggle, putting Karkat's glass to one side once he pushed it away dismissively. "Don't worry, I can't stand the stuff either. I don't actually drink at all! I only work here beclaws I  _kinda_ just need the money." Nepeta climbed up onto the counter, sitting next to Karkat with her feet on the stool beside his. Karkat just glanced up in her direction, reaching over to pull the lime off of his glass, biting into it.

 

"But uh, are you sure you're fine? You don't look fine. I-I mean, you DO look fine! You look _more_ than fine even, it's just... You really do look kinda sad. I can see it in your eyes..." She put her hand behind herself on the counter so she could lean back a little, looking down at him.

 

"Has nobody ever told you that it's rude to pry like that? I'm just... Not in a good place right now." Karkat replied, dropping the peel on the counter, Nepeta gasping at his comment with one hand on her chest. "Oh no, no! Please don't take that the wrong way! I wasn't trying to be nosy, I just... I thought maybe it might help to talk about it! That's just what most people come to these places to do when they're feline kinda down." Nepeta reassured him, swivelling around and jumping off the counter to stand back behind it.

 

Karkat let out another sigh. Was he really about to spill his guts out to her? She was nice, but it felt weird talking about his feelings like this with a stranger. Not to mention he wouldn't want to have to burden her with the terrible fate of having to listen to his problems, but there was something about the way she was smiling down at him that made him just want to open up. Maybe he could just tell her a little... 

 

The lump in Karkat's throat had come back. Not that it ever went away - he was just distracted from it.

 

"Well, I... I-..." He held his hand on his forehead. This was fine. It could be handled delicately. Him and Terezi had both decided that they were done with each other at the same time, so all he had to do was tell Nepeta that it was a mutual agreement to break-up and that was it.

 

"Me and my girlfriend... We'd been together for a really fucking long time now. We just... Decided we were done. That's all there is to it. We went our separate ways with no hard feelings." He said, refusing to look up at Nepeta as he spoke, though she nodded and smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder.

 

"Well, you both felt it was time, so it was good that you guys managed to break it off mewtually!" Nepeta said, her hand petting his shoulder gently.

 

Karkat opened his mouth to speak up again, only to be distracted by something from the corner of the room. The Jukebox, with impeccable timing, had begun to lead into the intro of 'If You Leave Me Now', by Chicago. Karkat glared back at the machine, red eyes watering up once again. With Karkat in such a volatile emotional state. It... Wasn't the best time.

 

"Who the fuck put this on?" He asked. 

 

"It's on random." Nepeta replied, looking at the machine with disapproval on her face, arms folded. Tears streaked down Karkat's cheeks, and it grew increasingly harder to fight back his emotions. Just then, Nepeta vaulted the counter, running over to the jukebox, beating her hand against the side of it to see if that would get it to stop.

 

"Agh! Just shush! Shut up!" She said, fumbling around in her pockets for some pennies to change the song. Karkat sniffled back at the counter, tears beginning to fall, now impossible to stop himself from crying. Every time he got close, he just remembered Terezi, and what they had, and how it was now nothing but dust in the wind. Nepeta heard him crying, looking back at him before running back over to where he was. "Oh no, no! No, don't cry!" She said, rushing back over to sit next to him, just leaving the song playing.

 

"I was with her for 12 fucking years, since we were both just kids... I-I grew up with her and now it's fucking _over_." Karkat said, turning to face Nepeta and then leaning against her as she hooked her arms around him, beyond caring about confiding in a stranger by this point. "I feel so fucking pathetic..." He said, crying into her shoulder, making her sleeve wet from all the tears. She gently pat him on the back, holding him close. Nothing like a sad song to get somebody to open up.

 

"It's alright, Karkat! It's purrfectly fine to feel like this, okay? You were with her fur a long time and... It's only natural to feel this way, but I pawromise, it's not the end of the world!" She said softly, nuzzling her head against his. She felt a little guilty for still indulging herself in cat puns while talking about something serious, but she really couldn't help it. By this point, it was beyond a habit for her.

 

He looked up at her, really wanting to believe what she was saying. Why was she being so nice? They barely knew each other, and even that was pushing it. "I seriously don't know why the fuck you even care. You don't even know me." He said, wiping an eye with his sleeve before he shut them tight, putting his head back against her shoulder. He wanted to move away as to not get her involved, but the warmth and comfort she offered in putting him in her arms was just too much to pass up.

 

The song had stopped playing by this point, and a much more upbeat one had taken its place.

 

"Karkat, you don't deserve to feel this way! Why should I just stand behind that counter doing nothing when you quite clearly need a shoulder to cry on right meow!" She said, putting both hands on his cheeks, looking at him, before simply letting go and holding him against herself once more. "I've got no problem being here for you if you feel like you've gotta talk about it some more..." She said, patting his back another couple of times. 

 

He nodded. "It's just... We'd been going downhill for a while now. It got to the point where we'd just argue about fucking anything, no matter how insignificant, like we were searching for things to get mad about. Our relationship became a fucking husk of what it used to be, and... There was just no love anymore. What I don't understand is why the fuck I'm still so fucking distraught over it if I can acknowledge that." He said, tears still falling at a steady pace, putting his arms back around Nepeta. "I can't imagine not being with her. It's... So fucking alien to me now."

 

"Hm..." Nepeta said, wiping tears from his face gently. "It's important to understand why you're so sad if you want to get over it... Maybe it's beclaws you've been with her for so long that now you're alone, you're afraid you might," She shrugged. "Maybe never find a love like that again?" She said, sounding somewhat unsure. Really, she was just giving a guess in an attempt to help him out.

 

Despite it just being a guess, Karkat still found himself pondering it for a moment. It was definitely a concern of his, since he'd always felt himself inadequate, even _with_ Terezi. It made more sense to him to be crying out of fear of loneliness than it did to cry over the loss of a relationship he admitted was loveless. Come to think of it, it always felt a little one-sided, but he still felt that it was love. "I'm not sure. You might be onto something there... I can't see myself being with anyone else. I don't know who the fuck _would_  want be with me anyway." He said with a defeated sigh, looking at the ground. A blush lightly dusted Nepeta's cheeks.

 

"I think it's a pretty big assumption to assume nobody would feel that way about you, Karkitty..." She said, rubbing his shoulder as she looked up at the ceiling. "Plenty of people would kill fur a cutie like you!" She added, lightly squeezing him.

 

"I'm cute?" He asked, rolling his eyes. "You really fucking think that there's people out there who would seriously find an asshole like me cute?" He said rather cynically, looking up at her.

 

"Well... _I_ do." She replied, looking back at him with her head tilted to the side.

 

Huh. Karkat was blushing a little himself by this point. He wasn't sure what to say. Usually, he'd have some witty reply fired off instantly, but in this situation he just settled for a: "...Oh."

 

Nepeta giggled, shrugging. "Like I said. I think you're pretty cute! And the fact you're so hung up on this shows that you're kinda sweet too!" She beamed, kissing his cheek. "I'd... Like to get to know you better some time!" She said, moving her hand over to his.

 

Her fingers intertwined with his, smiling brightly as she swept her hair out of her face, mossy green eyes gazing into his own. Though Karkat felt like it was a little soon for him to be thinking about going on another date, there was something about the way she was looking at him and the way she was talking that caused butterflies to flutter in his stomach. She seemed so... Friendly. But at the same time she looked so very sincere. He couldn't recall a time where Terezi had ever looked at him that way.

 

"It feels weird to think about it so soon, but surprisingly enough... I think there's at least some part of me that thinks I'd like that too." Karkat said as he rubbed the back of his neck, his other hand still holding hers. This was happening fast, but... It still felt right. Before he could talk about arranging a date, Nepeta leaned forward, her eyes fluttering closed as she pressed a kiss to his lips, her head tilted to the side ever so slightly. Her hand was now free of Karkat's, and it slowly began to travel up his arm, settling on his shoulder.

 

Karkat was taken aback, and he could feel his heart pounding out of his chest. Out of surprise, his eyes remained open for a few moments into the kiss, but eventually he seemed to come to terms with the situation, eyes closing just as slowly as hers did, happy to melt into the kiss with a hand placed once again on top of hers. It only lasted for a few wonderful moments, but time might as well have stopped because it felt like forever. Neither would have minded if it _was_ forever. Fireworks were going off in both of their hearts.

 

Nepeta pulled back eventually, a blush visible on both of their cheeks. 

 

 **"That was--..."** They spoke at the same time, both stopping when they each realized the other was also talking.

 

Both laughed somewhat awkwardly, until their eyes met once again.

 

"It's getting late." Karkat said, not even able to bring himself to look away from her to see the clock, though he knew it was _actually_ getting late. Or early. "I should really be going..."

 

"Yeah..." Nepeta said, smiling to herself as she leaned in closer for a hug, an action which Karkat willingly obliged, putting his arms around her. "Maybe we should... See each other again tomorrow?" She asked, leaning back to peck at his jaw.

 

"Definitely." Karkat replied, nodding in agreement. He'd really come away from this situation feeling a lot better about himself - Literally just being near Nepeta was now making his heart flutter. On top of that, he now had a date with her to look forward to. Maybe it was the beginning of something incredible. He sure hoped it was.

 

Nepeta beamed at him before getting up, jumping over the counter once again. She hummed to herself, picking up a napkin and procuring a pen from her pocket, scrawling something down on it. 

 

"What's that?" Karkat asked, standing back up. Nepeta looked at him with a smirk, before waving it around. "It's my number!" She said happily, sliding it over to him.

 

Sure enough, it was a series of digits, with a little message underneath that read: "Don't furget about me, Karkitty! :3"

 

Karkat nodded, stifling a smile as he tucked it into his wallet. Which reminded him - He hadn't paid for the drink. "Shit. I almost forgot about that gin." He said, still shuddering from the thought of it. Nepeta just giggled happily, shaking her head. "It's fine, don't worry about it!" She giggled as she reached over to grab his collar, pulling him over to give him one last peck on the cheek. "You just get going. I'll wait to hear from you tomorrow!" She said, blushing bright as she held her hands together behind her back.

 

Karkat nodded, waving to her. "...Goodbye Nepeta. I'll call, I promise." He said, pushing open the door with a creak. He lingered for a moment, looking back at her as he held it open, the rain still loudly pouring. "Bye!" She called out as she glanced back at him, their eyes locking one last time before Karkat nodded, walking out.

 

He looked up at the sky, feeling much more content. He didn't even care that it was raining, and that his clothes were pretty much soaking wet already after 5 seconds of being outside.

 

Now that nobody was around to see it, Karkat actually smiled, beginning to walk down the street.

 

The creaky wooden door slowly closed by itself once he was gone, leaving Nepeta to worry about closing up shop. She turned around, sighing happily as her face was still heated up from all the blushing. She giggled to herself, her hands clasping together over her heart as she leaned against the counter, gently sinking to the ground with a pleased hum. This could be the beginning of something incredible. She knew it would be. 


End file.
